"Atta, atta, will you tell me a story?"

I looked up from my laptop where I was switching between my Excel sheets and my story notes. That question was irritating and irresistible in equal parts, but the plea in his eyes melted me. How could I refuse my curly haired munchkin? A fact that he knew quite well and promptly settled on the bed beside me after he closed the laptop lid. So much for working.

Well, office work and writing can be done another day. My cute nephew would not stay five for much longer and soon would not even spare a minute for me. I was going to steal these moments, they would be memories for a lifetime. Pulling him closer and having him snuggle up was the best thing I could have. Everything else forgotten, we settled for a bedtime story.

"Okay, so what story do you want?"

"Mmmm... let me think."

He is adorable, as he stares at the wall, tapping his cheek, pretending to think. I wonder which television show he picked up that act from. The lockdown and the corona mantra of 'stay home, stay safe' meant that a large portion of the day was spent watching cartoons and other children programmes on Youtube.

A couple of minutes later, I prompted him, "Maybe a tale about Tyggy..."

"No."

"Gardhaba?"

"No."

"Meowmi and the Nini Bear?" 

I loved this tale and was quite proud of it too. It was about a kitten who never wanted to sleep and a large white bear taking away sleep from children who refused to go to bed. The bear always wanted to sleep and since that meant that he would often exceed his quota of sleep he needed to borrow it from others. But, losing sleep was not healthy for the ones who gave their sleep hours away. It worked wonders the first few times I told it and he would stop fussing about going to bed, but later on, he grew tired of the hidden moral.

When he refused this tale, I pondered along with him, "How about the magician and his dragon?"

"You are kidding, Atta, there are no dragons."

It is not a blessing to have a child who does not believe in dragons. I love them so it is always upsetting that he does not. However, I not his aunt for nothing, so I try to convince him, "They do exist, at least in stories. They look like dinosaurs but have wings and breathe fire...or ice."

He sighed, "Yes, but I do not want a story only about dragons. I want something different."

And we were back at the beginning.

At last he brightened, "Atta, tell me a story about chocolates."

"Like Gollu and chocolates?"

I was surprised. That story was about a baby gorilla who ate too many chocolates for days and ended up at the dentist with cavities. He had loved it in the beginning till he realised I was using it to teach him to eat less chocolates. But I did not mind telling him that tale, though he was quick to correct me.

"No Atta, a new story. About chocolates and...vegetables!"

I grimaced, "Cauliflower chocolates...or broccoli candy?"

He laughed, a joyous sound that never failed to make me happy, "That is yucky, but a story about chocolates and vegetables is nice. And if you like, you could add dragons too. Now start."

That was a tall order, but as I thought about it for a few minutes, ideas started popping. It seemed doable and so I began, "Once upon a time..."

Notes: Tyggy is a tale about a tiger who ended up aching legs when he continuously peddled his new toy car. Gardhaba is about a donkey who spends too much time in a bubble bath. All made up by me for my nephew :-)